So, you want to break your cell phone contract without incurring encumbersome fees. What can you do about the two-year contract that you are locked into? There are several ways that you can effectively negate your cell phone contract without having to pay an early termination fee. As a side note, known of these suggestions involves ingenious escape tricks or faking your own disappearance. Here are six suggestions that have proven effective at freeing boggled down mobile phone users from their old and out-dated contract.

Read the Fine Print of Your Contract

If you have recently signed up for new service, there is a simple way to break your cell phone contract. You will commonly find a clause in the contract that allows someone to drop the contract within the first fourteen to thirty days of service. You will only have to pay a prorated amount for the length of time that you used the service. In order to break your mobile contract this way, you have to call or visit your cell phone carrier for more information.

Find Someone to Take Over Your Contract

You may have heard of people finding someone to take over their auto loan or mortgage. Thanks to the power of the Internet, you can now do the same with a cell phone contract. Before you abandon ship though, there are some requirements that you and the potential candidate must meet.

There are now many websites dedicated to cell phone contract transferring/swapping. For example, you can find someone who might want to take over your contract at www.Celltradeusa.com . This is a site that specializes in connecting individuals, who want to transfer their cell phone contract, with someone who is interesting in obtaining a new contract. This is probably one of the most effective ways of breaking your mobile contract and believe it or not, it is fairly quick and effective.

One consideration to keep in mind so that you do not get bombarded with a hefty early termination fee is to be sure that the potential candidate for your contract meets all of the qualifications, such as a credit check.

Relocate to another Area

Okay, so this may seem like a drastic way to get out of your cell phone contract. If a person moves to an area that there current cell phone carrier does not service then the contract is no longer in effect. It is quite simple to change your address with a cell phone carrier. Now, this option does not have a high success rating since cell phone coverage has grown immensely, but it is always worth a shot. In addition, if you have a move imminent in the near future, one perk may be the ability to change cell phone carriers should you desire to do so.Read the rest of this entry »

Shopping for cell phones is a fun experience, as you explore stylish, compact, and advanced technological options. The cell phone you choose can be classy, impressive, and greatly functional for your working needs.

Shopping for cell phone contract plans, however, can be very frustrating; in fact, cell phone contracts are specifically designed to be confusing and difficult to compare with the competition. Cell phone providers are not exactly forthcoming about hidden fees and charges. If you are looking at signing a new cell phone contract, it is important that you go into the process with your eyes wide open, armed with knowledge. What kind of contracts will you have to sign? Is $20 too much for unlimited texts? And how much will it cost for you to cancel your contract?

When do the “nights and weekends” begin?

Each wireless carrier has a different policy when it comes to the parameters of “nights” and weekends.” Although many carriers offer unlimited nights and weekends, it is important for you to know when that timeframe begins.

Sprint offers unlimited nights and weekends on its “Power Pack” plan starting at 7 p.m. Or, you can pay an extra $5 a month, and 6 p.m. is officially “night.”

US Cellular pulls a similar stunt. If you are purchasing 450 minutes from them, your unlimited nighttime minutes begin at 9p.m. If you are purchasing 900 minutes from them, the sun sets a bit earlier, and 7p.m. is now when your free minutes start.

AT&T offers unlimited nights and weekends starting at 9p.m., but will happily change that to 7p.m. for you if you pay them an extra $9 a month.

Verizon Wireless and T-Mobile are straightforward with its nighttime policy: nights begin at 9p.m., and no amount of money can change what time the sun goes down.

Although most companies now agree that Saturday and Sunday are considered the weekends, you will soon be able to buy “three-day weekends” for your cell phone.

In conclusion, the provider with the best nights and weekends policy is Sprint, whose 7 p.m. policy comes standard without extra fees. US Cellular is a close second, offering free nights and weekends at 7p.m., but only if you purchase 900 minutes or more.

Add-on features: texting and media options

The additional features, such as texting and internet access, for your wireless service can add up to a tremendous amount of money each month. When you are comparing contracts, it is important to also evaluate the differences in costs for additional features.

If you are someone whose fingers are buff from texting, you can choose the unlimited text option from Sprint and T-Mobile for $10/month. US Cellular and ALLTEL charges $15 monthly for unlimited texting, wile AT&T is the most expensive option at $20 per month.

If you are into multimedia options on your wireless phone, then you can choose comprehensive packages. For unlimited email, picture messages, text messages, mobile internet, radio, and Sprint TV, you would only need to pay an additional $15 per month. You can obtain these options for approximately $20 with Verizon and T-Mobile and $40 with AT&T. US Cellular and ALLTEL do not offer similar multimedia contract plans.

Binding contract length: the gimmick of “rebates”

What about contract length? Do you have to sign a 2-year contract to get service? Most places offer contracts of one or two years, but they are not required. Instead, they utilize “rebates” on their cell phones to entice you to sign longer contracts. Typically, the rebates for a two year agreement range between $30 to $330, and the rebates are substantially greater than the one-year contracts.

Verizon Wireless is the only wireless provider that has a mandatory one year minimum contract, but you sign a two year contract, you can choose between four free phones and substantial rebate discounts.

T-Mobile, on the other hand, forces you to sign a two year contract if you want to purchase any of their “My Faves” packages; however, T-Mobile does not offer significant differences in the cell phone rebates between one or two year contracts.

Sprint’s phones are some of the most expensive. If you sign up for a two year contract and purchase online, you’ll have the option of only one free phone. US Cellular is the same, offering only one free phone after you are locked into a two year contract.

On the other hand, if you sign a two year contract with AT&T, you have the option of 12 free phones from which to choose.

ALLTEL does not have any free phones (although technically none of these phones are really free), but with all discounts and rebates, they offer three phones that will only cost $1 with a two year contract.

Termination fees

The ominous termination fees with cell phone contracts often bind unhappy customers to their current provider. Although the laws have begun to change, cell phone companies still include hefty termination fines in their contracts.

Due to potential legislation in Congress, some providers have preemptively changed their termination fee structure. AT&T and Verizon both prorate their $175 termination fee. This means that the later you cancel the contract, the less money you will have to pay in fees.

Alltell, Sprint, and T-Mobile charge a $200 early termination fee, while US Cellular fines you $150. While most service providers will waive the termination fee if you move outside of their service area, US Cellular will force you to pay the $150 early termination fee. This has been a point of grief for many US Cellular customers who have moved outside of the provider’s coverage zone, but still must fork out the hefty fee.

There has been a great explosion of available pay-as-you-go options available in the cell phone market of the United States. Each of these programs has their benefits and drawbacks, and they are all designed to fit a certain communication niche. By comparing all of their features, positives, and negatives, you will be able to select the best pay-as-you-go program for your communication and budgetary needs. In this review, we will be comparing the major pay-as-you-go providers in the United States, which are ALLTEL, Virgin Mobile, Helio, and Boost Mobile.

Reception: From a comprehensive viewpoint, Virgin Mobile has the best reception in the areas it serves. ALLTEL has superb reception, but it only serves 35 states. Both Boost Mobile and Helio lease Sprint/NEXTEL’s lines, and therefore, they have the same level of reception quality.

National coverage: Because Boost Mobile and Helio lease Sprint/NEXTEL’s carrier towers, they have the fullest national coverage. Virgin Mobile comes in next with its national coverage that is limited to its own carrier; it has no ability to pick up roaming signals from other companies. Lastly, ALLTEL has the most limited national coverage because it only serves 35 states.

Available technology:Helio’s reputation is based upon its high-tech phones and plans; with specific technology plans with unlimited text messaging and data transfer, Helio has a broad range of technology and related services. ALLTEL and Boost Mobile have phones with decent technology, and although Virgin Mobile has the widest array of phones, its product offering has less technologically advanced because they do not offer data transfer.

Call quality: In areas where there is reception, all four carriers offer excellent call quality and sound.

Customer service:Virgin Mobile has built its reputation upon stellar customer service, with ALLTEL following closely behind. Helio’s customer service is decent and effective, but it is not superb. However, Boost Mobile has a terrible reputation for customer service, with most clients walking away unhappy.

Variety of phones available:Virgin Mobile has the largest selection of phones, though their phones may be technologically weak in comparison to other carriers. Helio has not only a great selection of phones, but also the most technologically advanced ones. ALLTEL and Boost Mobile both have a decent product selection of their available phones.

Rates: As all of these companies offer pay-as-you-go service, their rates are very competitive and comparable. Virgin Mobile has the cheapest starting package, but there is not a significant difference in their rates for average phone usage.

With the extensive myriad of cell phone providers in the United States, it is not easy to navigate through the different services, options, phones, and rates that are available. Depending upon your communication needs and average usage, the cost-benefit analysis is different for each provider. By comparing the different features, benefits, and drawbacks of each major carrier, you will be able to find the best cell phone service provider for your communication needs. In this comparison review, we analyze AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon, Sprint/NEXTEL, and Cricket.

Reception: Overall, Verizon has the best comprehensive reception, even in remote, less populated areas. However, Verizon may experience decreases in call quality in highly dense urban areas. In a close second is Sprint/NEXTEL, as they have a large network from the merge of the two companies. AT&T and T-Mobile are closely matched for third place, with Cricket substantially lagging behind for last place.

National coverage:Verizon again takes first place in having the most extensive national coverage, ranging from the urban cities to the more remote, rural areas. Sprint/NEXTEL, AT&T, and T-Mobile are all evenly matched for overall national coverage. Cricket does not offer national coverage, and plans with Cricket are specifically designed to be utilized within one contained geographic.

Beneficial plan options:T-Mobile is considered to provide the most flexible plan choices, ranging from free nights and weekends to the “Fave Five” program. AT&T comes in at a close second with its unique “rollover” plan, as well as free nights and weekend minutes. Cricket offers free text messaging and unlimited minutes, which are great perks. Verizon and Sprint/NEXTEL have the least amount of innovative plan options, as they both offer traditional plans.

Call quality:T-Mobile, Verizon, AT&T and Spring/NEXTEL all offer excellent call quality in areas where there is reception coverage. Cricket has a less than stellar reputation in delivering good call quality.

Customer service: Although the reputation is not perfect, Verizon does offer the best customer service in comparison to all the other fixed-rate carriers. AT&T and T-Mobile do not possess high rankings in customer service, but Sprint/NEXTEL has the worst reputation in the industry for customer service.

Variety of phones available:AT&T has the largest and newest selection of cell phones, and they are often the exclusive carrier for new cell phones, such as the iPhone. Sprint/NEXTEL also has an extensive portfolio of cell phones, and they carry phones with new technology in VOIP and GPS segments. T-Mobile has a decent selection of phones, and Cricket has the smallest selection of available phone products.

Monthly plan rates: CricKet’s plans offer the most bang for the dollar, with its unlimited minutes. T-Mobile, through its “Fav Five” and free nights and weekends is tied equally with AT&T’s “rollover” and free nights and weekend minutes. Verizon and Sprint/NEXTEL are generally the most expensive providers.

High speed internet:Verizon has an excellent high speed internet network, and it is tied equally to the power of Sprint/NEXTEL’s new 4G network. AT&T also provides high speed internet, but they are still on a 3G network. T-Mobile and Cricket are not necessarily recommended for their ability to provide high speed internet on your cell phone.

Cell phones have become much more then simply a means of communicating with others. Instead, they have evolved into portable, multi-media centers. Many cell phones contain built-in computers, video recording capabilities and cameras. With the ability to both call and text family members and friends, traditional communication has taken a beating. While I fully recognize the value of the cell phone, I have to be honest when I say that it has taken over many of our lives. Some people are unwilling to go anywhere without their cell phone. Others will completely ignore the people that they’re with, in order to text or talk to someone else. Below are several things that people can do to prevent their cell phone from taking over their life.a. When out and about with someone only use the phone for emergencies: It is incredibly rude to be hanging out with someone, take a call from someone else and then continue to talk to that person, while the other person sits there alone. If you are supposed to spend time with someone, than you need to do exactly that. Stay off the phone. This includes sending and receiving texts, unless it is an emergency.

b. Get off your phone while driving: There are very few reasons why a person needs to be talking on their cell phone while they are driving. Talking on the phone while driving is very dangerous. In fact, some studies have shown that it is as dangerous as driving drunk.

c. Never text while behind the wheel: Texting may be even worse than talking on the phone while driving because a person is forced to use their hands while texting. Everyone knows that a driver’s hands need to be on the wheel. Too many fatal accidents have occurred because someone just had to send a text while driving.

d. Hang up the phone while out to dinner: When a person is out to eat, people should refrain from having a long and loud conversation on the phone. Not only is this rude to the person they are dining with but also so for the other patrons in the restaurant. No one wants to hear someone else’s phone conversation while they are trying to enjoy a nice dinner out.

e. Visit people in person every now and again: It is perfectly okay to visit someone in person. There are communication options aside from sending texts or calling them on the phone. A good old-fashion, face-to-face visit is often much appreciated from time to time.

Cell phones have become an important part of our culture. We have come to rely on them and may even be a bit spoiled by how convenient they are as well as their ability to connect us not only to our family members and friends but to people all over globe. The ability to use the internet, play games, watch TV, record and share videos makes our cell phones multi-media outlets of sorts. This can be both positive and negative. Either way, it is important to prevent our cell phones from taking over our lives. A willingness to continue to connect in traditional ways is a great place to start.

You would probably be hard pressed to find a person who doesn’t have a cell phone. Everyone seems to have one and many are wary of going any place without it. Some people can’t seem to live without theirs. They have become dependent upon it. While it is true that some people a bit fanatic when it comes to their cell phone, they do have a number of very important functions (I really can’t imagine what life was like before them) and thus choosing the right cell phone is very important.

There are a number of things that individuals should consider when shopping for a cell phone. They include a person’s particular needs, price, aesthetics, whatever extras come with the phone and the service plan. We will take a closer look at these considerations below.

a. Need: One of the first things that a person will want to think about when looking for a cell phone is your particular needs. Do they spend a lot of time on the phone? If not, then it might not be necessary to spend a lot of money on a fancy phone if they don’t need it. On the other hand, if a person uses their phone a great deal and are somewhat dependent on it, then it may make sense to spend a little more money on it.
b. Price: Price will be a consideration for many people. If a person doesn’t have a big budget, then spending a lot of money on a cell phone may not be a good idea. Thankfully, it is possible to buy a pretty good phone for relatively little money. In order to find something that fits in ones budget, it might be necessary to get a basic phone instead of one with all of the extras. The latter tend to be more expensive.

c. Service Plan: Check out the service plan of any cell phone you are thinking about buying. It might be possible to purchase an expensive phone cheaply if a person is willing to sign up with a particular company’s service plan. Many will require that their customers sign on for a period of 1-2 years. It is important to make sure that the plan is acceptable and offers a good value.

d. Aesthetics: Today’s phones are extremely stylish. They are available in a myriad of colors and styles. Individuals should look for a phone that is aesthetically pleasing. Chances are, you they be able to find something that they like which is pretty important considering that a person will be carrying around their cell phone wherever they go.

e. The Extras: It is possible to purchase a cell phone with a built-in music player, camera, video recorder and a myriad of other “extras.” Many of these “extras” are now standard and can be had pretty cheaply. Look for those phones which offer the most “extras” as possible but which are priced affordably.

When considering which cell phone to buy, it is important that a person knows exactly what type of phone they need to be looking for. This will make the process much easier while lessening the likelihood that they will spend more money then they want to. Before a person goes shopping for their next cell phone they should consider what extras are being offered by the telephone company, the aesthetics of the phone, the cost of service plan (and relevant restrictions), need and cost of the phone. Narrowing down the aforementioned should make the process pretty easy.

Does your pre-teen need a cell phone? Well, maybe. Below will discuss why they might and why they might not. Hopefully, after reading this article, you will have a good grasp on the pros and cons of pre-teens owning cell phones so that you can make an informed decision about whether or not to purchase your pre-teen a mobile phone.

Reasons Why You Should Buy Your Pre-teen a Cell Phone
a. For safety: This world is no longer a friendly place. There are ‘nutjobs’ all over looking to do harm to your kids and mine. While a cell phone can’t necessarily save them from every “crazy,” it does allow them to quickly call for help if they find themselves in trouble or believe that trouble is brewing.

b. To communicate: Kids today lead busy lives. Their schedules are often times just as jam packed as us adults. Talking on the cell phone might be necessary to coordinate schedules, pick-ups and drop-offs.

c. Everyone else their age probably has one: I know for some parents this won’t be a very strong argument. However, it’s worth mentioning. A mom or dad may consider getting their son or daughter a cell phone because other kids their age have one. Having a cell phone would allow them to more easily connect and communicate with their friends.Read the rest of this entry »

One of the latest technologies in mobile phone is the barcode communication.

These barcodes are printed lines of black and white colors. They can hold a large amount of information than the usual barcodes that can be found in everyday products. The method of communication is by taking a picture of the barcode from the camera of the mobile phone which in turn is converted to a media like text, music or videos on the phone’s display.

Mobile carriers also have more choices of interaction between the cellphone and the physical world. For example, a user could take a picture of a softdrink in which the phone will recognize it and translate it into text message advertisements using special software applications.

Eventually, when the mobile carriers adopt the barcode scanning with mobile phones, there will be several formats of choice like the commonly used QR Code, Qode and Semacode.

This technology is now being widely used in Japan as the mobile carriers have added the code reader feature on all its newly released phone models. Street signs, billboards, food products and published content are now embedded with these barcodes.

At McDonalds for example, customers just aim their camera phones at their French fries and they immediately get the nutrition information on their displays. They can also get insurance quotes from magazines by pointing at them with their phones. Hospital prescriptions have barcodes imbedded in them to allow pharmacies to scan it instead of reading it.

U.S. advertisers in the states want to add this technology. The only problem is that mobile phones in the States lack the software capability so users have to manually download the barcode technology on their own.

At&T, Verizon and Sprint officials did not say anything on whether it was having meetings and discussion with the code reading technology companies. These barcode technology companies stated that it would be an advantage to mobile carriers to add this barcode scanning feature to their phones because it will encourage users to spend a lot of time tinkering with their mobile phone, which in turn might encourage these users to add more features to their phone like internet access.

The barcode scanning technology is a good example in showing how far behind U.S. is compared to Japan in the cellphone and broadband industry.

It is also interesting to know the social and environmental impact this technology will have on products. Such as getting on-the-fly information of products that you are buying from a grocery store. Or showing a video clip of that product on how it was manufactured. Also in finding out carbon emission amounts being produced when the item was made. These social and environmental impacts will ease the minds of consumers by finding out what the products they are eating or using is made of.

Hopefully, in the months or years to come, this barcode recognition technology will be adapted in the U.S. and will make the country at par with Japan in terms of advanced technology being used and employed.

Mobile phones that offer video capabilities have been existence for quite some time now. TV Shows on mobile, however, are not that common yet. The best that a mobile phone plan has to offer currently are clips of video from TV shows such as ESPN and the “Daily Show” from Comedy Central. Other mobile phone manufacturers are still in the development stage in providing phones that are designed to view live video feeds from high-speed network providers. In the future, not only will people’s favorite TV shows be shown on mobile but also new shows which will be designed only for the mobile phone.

Tip No. 2: Pre-paid against Post-paid plans.

Pre-paid bonuses? Yes! It is often mistaken that there are no add-ons when it comes to pre-paid mobile phones. Mobile carriers like Liberty Wireless and Tracfone including also some major mobile access providers do offer bonuses for their pre-paid lines. This makes the users very happy and the lawyers grumpy.

A carrier providing pre-paid mobile services includes bonuses to beat the competition offering the same pre-paid services. Most carriers offer the usual call waiting, voice mail, 911 connect, caller ID and long distance nationwide services. As an added extra bonus, more carriers provide unlimited calls and text for a certain period in days, weeks or months. It depends on the type of loading that is chosen.

When comparing mobile phone plans you can visit sites like wirefly.com and compare them. If bonuses or extra perks are not indicated on these sites you can always request it from the carriers.Read the rest of this entry »

MUNICH, Germany — While sale for mobile handsets continues to grow, the price pressure in this segment will keep the chip sales figures from climbing at the same speed. Only additional features offer a chance for chip vendors to benefit from the market growth, suggests a study from In-Stat.

The study predicts the cellphone chip sales volume for 2007 to exceed $31 billion worldwide. For the year 2012, the market researchers expect an only slightly higher market volume of $32.2 billion. However, they expect significant demand for add-on-functions such as Bluetooth. “The features that appear in cellular handsets are an interesting mix of consumer wants, cellular opportunities and semiconductor manufacturing abilities”, explained In-Stat analyst Allen Nogee.Read the rest of this entry »

Ask almost anyone, and they’ll tell you that cell phone etiquette — or lack thereof — is a problem. For that matter, telephone etiquette hasn’t been entirely sorted out yet, as encounters with sales clerks and receptionists constantly remind me. It’s just that it’s harder to escape cell phone users. I’m constantly irritated by some of the inane conversations I hear on the bus or train, or just walking down the street, and sometimes astonished at how some people broadcast some pretty personal details because they forget they’re in public.

The only thing that appalls me more than obnoxious cell phone callers are those who think they should determine if a call is a waste of time. “If anything characterizes the 21st century, it’s our inability to restrain ourselves for the benefit of other people,” says James Katz, director of the Center for Mobile Communication Studies at Rutgers University. “The cellphone talker thinks his rights go above that of people around him, and the jammer thinks his are the more important rights.” [The emphasis is mine.] That quote is from a New York Times article that ran yesterday on the use of cell phone jammers, which are illegal in the U.S. — but so small it’s near-impossible to enforce the prohibition against them.

Why do I emphasize the jammer, and not the obnoxious talker? Because many people who blab loudly on their cell phones don’t realize they’re doing it. The person using the jammer, on the other hand, makes a conscious decision that the other person’s conversation isn’t important when they press that button. Or they decide the other person isn’t important. Read the article through and you’ll notice an interesting bent to the quotes from people jamming: “She was using the word ‘like’ all the time. She sounded like a Valley Girl.” “Just watching those dumb teens at the mall get their calls dropped is worth it. Can you hear me now? NO! Good.” And perhaps the most telling: “At this point, just knowing I have the power to cut somebody off is satisfaction enough.”Read the rest of this entry »

The Verizon Chocolate puts a strong emphasis on style and, dare I say, flavor of cell phones. There are many cell phones that are marketed to specific groups, and the only demographic I can picture the Chocolate being marketed to is 1970s detective Shaft, or those that want to be like him. This phone attempts to create a style that can only be described as smooth, and Verizon does so quite well.

Features: Full functionality

The Chocolate features Bluetooth compatibility, which is convenient for many users. In addition, the Chocolate also comes with 64 MB of memory and has a slot for a SD card, which is very beneficial for the phone’s ability to support media. The Chocolate supports mp3 and WMA formats, while allowing you to multitask and play music in the background. In addition to music, this Verizon phone also takes 1 megapixel pictures, allows for streaming video, and can record up to one hour of QCIF resolution video.

Performance: Smoothness overrides standard measurements

The Chocolate is a slide-form phone with a sleek design and smoothly designed color plates to match. Weighing in at 3.24 oz., this definitely is not the smallest or lightest phone on the market, but its compact style will make you forget about 1.72 of those ounces.

The BlackBerry Pearl 8100 is one of the smallest smartphones in the world, with a thin and sleek design that has a different appearance than other smartphones. This BlackBerry phone has a black and chrome glossy finish, giving it a very polished look.

Just below the 2.25-inch TFT screen is a pearl-like trackball, which is the reason that RIM decided to name this device after a gemstone. Weighing just 3.1 ounces and measuring 4.2” x 2.0” x 0.5”, the Pearl has a “candy bar” shaped design that looks like a cell phone instead of a traditional smartphone. This BlackBerry is a very classy and stylish smartphone.

Features: Great features and several perks

The BlackBerry Pearl 8100 comes with everything you have come to expect from a BlackBerry smartphone, with a few added features as well. The Pearl is the first BlackBerry to offer an integrated 1.3 megapixel digital camera, an audio player, and a video player together.

The Pearl has other great features, such as a web browser, email, instant messaging, and text messaging. It also offers organizer applications, like a calendar, address book (even for your corporate data), and a mapping feature. The MP3 feature could be the most attractive; it allows you to place your music directly on your phone through Bluetooth technology, eliminating the need for other devices.

Performance: Great talk time with new features

Research In Motion’s quad-band (GSM 850/900/1800/1900; EDGE) BlackBerry Pearl users have noticed that sound is more muffled, but improves slightly when turning it to the speakerphone.

The BlackBerry Pearl supports several types of audio files: MP3, AAC, MIDI, and WAV files. Users can create their own playlists, shuffle, and repeat, all from within the folders they made. Display information includes title, artist, and album, along with track information too.

The new trackball is similar to the one on the T-Mobile Sidekick 3; it acts as a select button when pressed down and has four directional scrolling. However, without the normal jog dial on the right side, it will take time for BlackBerry users to adjust to the changes.

The BlackBerry Pearl has been tested and rated for 3.5 hours of talk time and up to 15 days of standby time, with the battery lasting up to 21 hours with music and six hours for video playback.

You may already have a “pay as you go” plan on your cell phone. Now get ready to use a pay before you go concept using the same handset. The Royal Bank and Visa Canada are teaming up for a pilot project that will allow mobile phones with specially embedded chips to be used to automatically pay for purchases at a store.

The idea isn’t a new one – it’s been in use for a while overseas. But it’s the first time Canadians will be able to go dialing for dollars without actually needing their wallet. “The consumers don’t have to reach into their pockets and fumble for cash and change,” explains Royal Bank spokesperson Anne Koski. “They can just pull out their mobile phones, which most people carry today anyway. All they need to do then is simply wave the phone at the checkout reader … there is no pin or password.”

And for a change there won’t be something else attached – a service charge. The system will be free to consumers, and it won’t count against your airtime charges. But there are a few catches. In order to prevent fraud or losses from people who lose their phones, the system will only let you charge $25 or less at a time. And in the beginning, it will be restricted to the bank’s credit card customers, with an option to add debit card holders later on.

The experiment will be limited to Ontario and will end next year, after which the Bank will mull over how to launch it commercially.

They’ll be supplying the phones for the test but don’t yet know which ones will be compatible with the system. “I think this is going to take off in Canada,” Koski predicts. “The value proposition that this provides is security and convenience.”Read the rest of this entry »

The Helio Heat puts a large emphasis on being small and compact. Coming in at 3.6″ x 1.8″ x 0.6″, I would not describe the Heat as tiny, but would instead say that this slide-form phone is adequately sized. The design focuses on having all the features that a phone should, but without unnecessary space. The buttons are satisfactory for use, and they do not infringe on other buttons’ territories.

Features: Technologically packed, but without the memory

The idea behind the Heat is to provide an affordable device that has a few “extra” technology features. This Helio phone comes with Bluetooth technology, which is very convenient for most people. The Heat does feature several standard features we expect from modern cell phones, such as streaming video, one megapixel photos, video capture (14 fps), and a music player. However, a large downside to these features is the lack of adequate memory to really take advantage of these features. The Heat only has 136MB of shared memory. The lack of memory space defeats the purpose of having all those great features.

Performance: Moderate longevity

The Helio Heat suffers from a lamentably short battery life, clocking in at only three hours of talk time and eight days of standby time. After the normal wear and tear that most cell batteries take after usage, I imagine the Heat will become less of a wireless phone and more of a house phone. This is especially unfortunate, as Helio is marketing the Heat as the affordable cousin to its other cell phones. Being so affordable, I would imagine reliability would be of greater concern, but it falls short.Read the rest of this entry »

BASKING RIDGE, N.J.–Intelligent services are on the way for Verizon Communications customers as the company expands its fiber-to-the-home and 3G wireless networks.

Imagine how much easier life could be if your phone company’s network was smart enough to route your messages to the device you’re using right now, freeing you from keeping track of independent and separate e-mail, SMS, and instant messaging accounts.

Or what if you could start playing your favorite game, Bejeweled, on your PC and then continue playing the same game without interruption on your cell phone as you leave the house to commute to work.

For Verizon customers, services such as these may be just around the corner. Last week, Verizon invited several members of the press to its development facility here, where Chief Technology Officer Mark Wegleitner and his team of executives showed off how some of these innovative services might work.

While many of these services are technically possible today, none is offered yet by Verizon. Executives were careful not to make big promises, but the applications and services they’re showcasing are just the tip of the iceberg in terms of new services that are possible using Verizon’s all-fiber network called Fios and the newly expanded 3G wireless network of Verizon Wireless, its joint wireless venture with Vodafone.Read the rest of this entry »

Many cell phone calls failed to get through, while some land lines were briefly spotty. And in the wake of Tuesday’s quake, many people were left trying to determine how they should communicate when the next one hits.

Cell phone providers acknowledged brief disruptions in service, but say their systems aren’t designed to accommodate the dramatic increases in call volume that occurred in the minutes after Tuesday’s 8:04 p.m. Alum Rock quake.

In a bigger disaster, cell phone companies say, people shouldn’t count on being able to use their cell phones immediately.

Yet regulatory advocates question if enough attention is being paid to whether the companies are putting enough resources into the network capacity needed when a disaster strikes.

For some, the solution was simple: text messaging.

For others, like 33-year-old Yvette Ostil of San Jose, the refrain was the same for what phone companies said was 30 minutes to an hour after the earthquake: “We kept trying to call my family and all the lines were busy.”

The dilemma isn’t a new one. During the Minnesota bridge collapse earlier this year, some people on the scene said they couldn’t get a connection – even though cell phone carriers said they tried to move quickly to meet the increased demand.

But Regina Costa, telecommunications research director for The Utility Reform Network (TURN) in San Francisco, said little regulatory attention has been paid to how the phone companies are handling network capacity.Read the rest of this entry »

Despite the dimensions, the Motorola Razr2 V8 is still too large for its intended simple, sleek design. The 4.13 oz weight is not exceptionally heavy, nor is the 4.06″ x 2.09″ x 0.47″ dimensions particularly large. However, the size is more superfluous for a clamshell style phone than beneficial. When this Motorola phone is opened, I almost feel like I am holding a small sword, instead of a piece of modern technology. On the plus side, the Razr2’s size does make the button size adequate and the 240 x 320 resolution screen very satisfactory.

Features: Everything you need, with great storage space

The Razr2 V8 has all the features that a modern cell phone should, including a few of those impressive extras. For instance, this phone has a 2 megapixel camera and a two hour video capture. I should also mention the optimal 2GB built-in memory that allows you to actually use the media features. In addition, the Razr2’s media player supports not only the typical MP3 and WMA formats, but also AAC for all you Apple fans.

Performance: Duller than G3, but amplified with Linux

The Razr2 V8 still runs on GSM (850/900/1800/1900), unlike its Motorola cousin the V9, which sports G3 technology. This means that you lose some of the phone call sharpness that you would experience with newer devices. The battery life of the Razr2 V8 clocks extends for eight hours of talk time and almost 12 days of standby time. However, Motorola is oddly silent regarding its battery time when playing music. This is also a phone that carries Linux technology, which should please Linux’s die-hard fan base.

The Apple iPhone itself is essentially an all-screen cell phone, blessed with a “home button” center stage. The phone itself is 4.5″ x 2.4″ x 0.46″, making it just a bit too large for most pockets. The screen is 3.5″, which makes it exponentially larger to other cell phones. The clear, large screen makes it ideal for viewing movies and pictures, instead of the typical “what exactly am I looking at?” feeling one gets with most cell phone screens.

Features: Encyclopedia of media options

There are many phones on the market that feature stylus-style maneuvering, and with the exception of the “home,” volume, and power buttons, the iPhone is all touch-style. The touch-style screen is certainly tremendously fun, but I felt that the screen did not have enough space for my fingers. When dialing, the screen becomes a touch-tone pad, which worked just fine, but when typing, half of the screen became a keyboard. The half-screen keyboard was too small to type quickly, but typing slowly was not much better. The iPhone, does, however, feature predictive text entry, which was the only way I could correctly finish a sentence. With a phone this large, it is important to use two hands while using the screen. I should also mention that after my fingers touched the iPhone, the screen appeared unsanitary, and I had an uncontrollable urge to wash my hands afterwards.

The iPhone utilizes multi-tasking iTunes, which allows you to listen to your music while utilizing other functions. In addition to iTunes, the iPhone also comes with plenty of programs for you to use, including a stock ticker, map, calendar, the Safari internet browser, email, SMS text, weather updates, and…oh yes, it can actually be used as a phone as well.

I found that only a few of these features ran particularly well. For instance, the weather update was very helpful. Did you know it was 79 degrees in Tokyo today? However, the map feature, despite having great potential for being useful, failed me. The screens were loading far too slow, and in the end, gave me the wrong directions. With its large screen and built-in browser, the Safari and iPhone go well together. The iPhone is most likely your best bet for browsing the internet on your phone. However, it is still miles away from replacing a laptop.

Virgin Mobile is a leading American communication service provider that offers a variety of plans to its customers. By winning an Excellence Award for its prepaid services, Virgin Mobile has truly joined the higher ranks of providing excellent cellular service to millions of customers.

Benefits of Virgin Mobile

Seemingly unlimited variety of phones: With a very extensive cell phone product gallery, Virgin Mobile provides a large variety of phones for its customers. With options like Super Slice, Marbi, Snapper and more, it is easy for you to find the best phone suited for your preferences and needs.

No roaming charges for nationwide coverage: Under the Virgin Mobile plan, you are free to roam anywhere in the country without incurring roaming fees. However, unlike other networks, you can only access Virgin Mobile cell phone towers; therefore, if you happen to be in an area without Virgin Mobile coverage, you will not be able to use your cell phone. However, Virgin Mobile does boast of its excellent coverage of almost every nook and corner of United States of America.

Cheap monthly plans: If you choose to use the Virgin Mobile service, your plans could start as low as $14.99 per month. They are a much more affordable option than other cell phone providers.

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Change your plan anytime: With a Virgin Mobile phone, you have an ability to change your plan anytime without having to worry about annual contracts. In fact, Virgin Mobile does not have any annual contracts. If you want a plan that has minimum contract commitments, Virgin Mobile gives you that opportunity.

Excellent 24/7 customer service: If you have any questions or need to speak with a customer representative, Virgin Mobile’s customer service has a stellar reputation. Trained professionally in dealing with customer service, they will make every effort to ensure your queries are answered in a polite and professional manner.

Disadvantages of Virgin Mobile

No MMS: In the age of technology and multimedia, many people want multimedia at their fingertips. Virgin phones do not offer the MMS service to their customers.

No GPRS: Most cell phone providers offer GSM technology in their phones, which facilitates GPRS. Without GPRS, users of Virgin Mobile are not able to send packets of information, such as SMS, to and from their phones.

Cross network cost-benefit analysis: Customers who use mobile devices for their extensive communication needs should analyze the cost-benefit circumstance with Virgin Mobile, especially if they travel through different cities. Though Virgin Mobile does provide nationwide coverage, it is not complete coverage in every single city of America; therefore, many Virgin Mobile customers had to switch networks in order to gain phone usability. Although you may save money with Virgin Mobile, having no cell phone coverage in certain areas takes away the financial benefit.

Overall Rating (8/10): Virgin Mobile is an excellent choice for users who are seeking affordability and are willing to sacrifice full roaming coverage, MMS, and GPRS capabilities. Their excellent customer service and high call quality make Virgin Mobile an excellent choice for many users.

Founded by Earthlink and launched in May 2006, Helio is possibly the smallest of all cellular service providers. When they started offering services to customers in the USA, they leased lines from Sprint to provide the service. Helio, having a major corporate backing from SK Telecom in Korea, intends to target a certain group of users with its technologically advanced phones. Strategically, this cuts down Helio’s market size by 50% even before the phones hit the market.

Benefits of Helio

Sophisticated phones with cutting edge technology: Helio offers phones that are different and more sophisticated than the traditional fare. Helio offers handsets to users who have a taste for technology and technical gizmos.

Good roaming features: Helio leases the lines of Sprint to provide its services. In the areas where Sprint does not work well, Helio Phones go onto automatic toggling mode to the network of ALLTEL, US Cellular. This allows customers of Helio to stay connected with their Helio Phone wherever they go in the United States.

Unlimited Data Plans: Helio phone users benefit tremendously from free unlimited data plans. This allows unlimited text to be exchanged through the mobile phones. This could be a welcome relief for all the users who had limitations with their earlier phone service providers.

Boost Mobile launched its mobile phone services in 2002 and has a large customer base of approximately four million subscribers. Boost Mobile was launched by Nextel in 2002 and since then has maintained a level customer turn-over rate.

Benefits of Boost Mobile

IDEN Phones: Most of the Boost Mobile Phones are operational on IDEN Phones. The IDEN service is responsible for Boost Mobile’s ability to provide extensive features to their customer base. These features include the walkie-talkie, GPS, ringtone, wallpapers, downloads, and much more. The walkie-talkie has been a very customer friendly feature for many users.

Good call quality: With Boost Mobile using most of Sprint’s IDEN and CDMA, users of Boost Mobile are always assured of good call quality. You could now go to any part of the United States and be virtually assured of good connectivity.

Pay as You Go: Boost Mobile offers its users the option to pay for flexible usage of their cell phone service. This is quite a change from many other cellular service providers who charge their customers fixed rates every month. With Boost Mobile, you only pay for the time that you use on your cell phone.

ALLTEL is a wireless service provider for individual and corporate users in as 35 states in America. ALLTEL is known to provide good quality services in the states in which it has network coverage. Primarily providing wireless services using analog technology, ALLTEL has taken the big leap forward in providing services on digital platforms to its users.

Benefits of ALLTEL

High quality network in 35 states of the USA: ALLTEL currently serves only 35 states with its networks. However, customers using ALLTEL phones have few complaints regarding call quality problems in these 35 states. ALLTEL also has roaming agreements with cellular service providers to ensure that customers can use ALLTEL phones wherever they go in the United States of America.

Free minutes at night: ALLTEL offers its users free talk time in the evening. After 9 pm, you can talk for hours until the next morning, and yet not pay a dime for all this time. With an additional fee, you can upgrade this free talk time starting at 7 pm.

An operating subsidiary of Leap Wireless International, CricKet prides itself in providing services to customers who are frustrated with the service of other cellular subscribers. Offering a wide range of plans to its customers, CricKet is considered to be one of the cheapest cell phone services available in the United States.

Benefits of CricKet

Little to no documentation: Unlike other cell phone providers, you could get a CricKet Mobile phone service with minimal documentation. This also means that you could be spared from signing one or two year contracts, which is not the case with other service providers.

Cost effectiveness: CricKet Phone services are known to be the most cost-effective of all other service providers. The highest priced plan of CricKet, CricKet Nation 200, is priced at $60 per month, with the lowest priced plan extending to $30 a month. There really is no other cheaper provider on the market.

Free text messaging: Unlike some other cellular service companies who charge their users for text messaging, CricKet offers free text messaging with all their plans. This allows users to send as many text messages as they want without being charged with a cost per message.

Nextel/Sprint has a wide subscriber list with close to 55 Million Subscribers. Created in 2005 as NEXTEL Communications, the original NEXTEL was bought out by the Sprint Corporation. This merger meant users could get a range of benefits from Sprint and NEXTEL both. In terms of translating to tangibles, Sprint/NEXTEL is known as a user-friendly company.

Benefits of Sprint/NEXTEL

Power Pack Plans: Sprint/NEXTEL previously offered Free Incoming Plans to their users, but they were recently replaced by Power Pack Plans. These Power Pack Plans have resulted in many Sprint users increasing their positive reviews regarding the service. Competitive in rates with other cell phone providers like Verizon, Power Pack offers users a “pay as you go” alternative. This plan offers users of Sprint the opportunity to buy minutes at a nominal fee of $0.25 per minute as opposed to buying “x” minutes for a flat fee from other subscribers.

Discounts for users with expired contracts: Any user, who had previously signed a two-year agreement with Sprint/NEXTEL, obtains attractive discounts for signing a new two-year agreement with Sprint/NEXTEL. For many customers, it is a great perk to be rewarded for staying with the service.

Verizon is one of the largest cell phone service providers in America. With a large array of mobile phones and plans, in combination with their receipt of the American Brand of Excellence Award, Verizon is a quality cell phone service provider for those who are willing to pay a little extra.

Benefits of Verizon

Many large corporate user groups utilize Verizon and have experienced excellent service. The cell phone reviews from individual users of Verizon concentrates their praise on its high-speed internet networks.

Good range of services: Verizon’s reputation caters to a wide range of customers. By having differentiated plans that specifically target either individuals or corporate users, Verizon usually offers an effective plan for each user’s needs. Offering discount packages to its consumers has brought Verizon accolades in their cell phone service reviews.

High speed internet: Verizon is one of the few cell phone provider services that offer high speed internet. The Verizon DSL & Internet plan allows you to use your phone to access the internet at an affordable rate. Verizon provides this High Speed Internet Package at 3 Mbps for approximately $40 per month. However, in order to access the high speed internet, you must stay within an area covered by the primary network of Verizon.